Ukraine to vet Russia aid convoy
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RUSSIA let Ukrainian officials inspect an aid convoy while it was still on Russian soil yesterday and agreed that the Red Cross can distribute the goods in Ukraine’s rebel-held city of Luhansk. The twin moves aimed to dispel Ukrainian fears that the operation was a ruse to get military help to the pro-Russian rebels.
Breaking an earlier deal, Russia had sent the convoy of roughly 200 aid trucks toward a border crossing under the control of the rebels in eastern Ukraine, raising the prospect that it could enter without being inspected by Ukraine or the Red Cross.
Ukraine had pledged to deploy all means necessary to block the convoy in such a scenario, leading to fears of an escalation in the fighting that has ravaged eastern Ukraine since April.
Amid the tensions, dozens of Russian military trucks and armored personnel carriers moved yesterday around the area where the trucks were parked, about 28 kilometers from the border in a Russian field.
Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s security council, said some Russian military vehicles crossed into Ukraine — a charge that Russia denied. Lysenko did not specify the source of his information. However, NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said yesterday that the alliance had observed a Russian “incursion” into Ukraine.
“What we have seen last night is the continuation of what we have seen for some time,” he said during a visit to Copenhagen.
Despite the mutual distrust, the two sides reached an agreement early yesterday and 41 Ukrainian border guards and 18 customs officials began inspecting the Russian aid in the field, defense officials in Kiev said.
“It has become possible to avoid the escalation of situation with the Russian humanitarian cargo, thanks to support from the international community,” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was quoted as saying by his office.
In what looked like a new attempt at shuttle diplomacy, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto met with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Sochi and was set to travel to Ukraine today.
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